[ runway to life: red on red ]

I don’t find myself wearing gowns very often but whenever the opportunity presents itself I run into the same issue. What do you wear over it on the way to and from the event? In deciding what to wear for the performance of Luisa Miller at the San Francisco Opera last night the following was my thought pattern:

The most obvious choice would probably be a cardigan, but that’s boring. A bolero, pashmina, or a shawl are some classic options but a little “mature” for my liking. A tuxedo jacket, a cape, or a vest could look elegant and chic but are still pretty intuitive. A motorcycle leather jacket could potentially work over a flowy chiffon dress; the juxtaposition of the soft and feminine with the edginess of leather could look interesting. But the one combination I haven’t seen very much is a slouchy crop sweater over a gown so I experimented with this pairing for last night’s show. Admittedly I went a little heavy on the red but I wanted the extra drama. In the words of Bill Blass, “When in doubt, wear red”.